Connect the Dots...

 by Charlotte Bennardo

Photo by César Gaviria: https://www.pexels.com/photo/shallow-photo-of-domino-blocks-1393972/

Sometimes when we're in a moment of our lives, it seems like a stop, unconnected from what came before or what might come next. Hindsight gives us the opportunity to see that all the stops, like leaving home, going to college, getting a job, building a family, etc., are all connected on our journey. 

In my own personal journey, at first glance, it seems like my paralegal degree and my bartending job, my journalism degree and my wedding, my MFA degree and the birth of my children, my move to New Jersey and my soon to be empty nesting are random occurrences. Yet, one led to the other; getting my journalism degree took me to my first writing job---and the realization that I couldn't support myself. so I went back to school and started my paralegal degree, supporting myself by tending bar. I met my eventual husband and moved to Connecticut. When his company transferred him to NJ, my paralegal job required me to finish my Bachelor's degree. When the kids came, I stayed home and wrote stories and novels. Once the kids were grown and the pandemic set in, I went for my MFA to fulfill a dream. All these stops led me, like steps, connected to and supporting each other, to where I am. 

Photo by Leon Macapagal: https://www.pexels.com/photo/high-angle-photo-of-person-going-down-the-stairs-3027140/

What are the next steps? Helping my sons and parents move away, re-establishing my writing routine and incorporating both a hybrid system of both traditional and independent publishing, learning how to be an empty nester, and doing those things I have time now to do. It all sounds so simple, looking back; all I did was follow the dots. 

Charlotte writes MG, YA, NA, and adult novels in sci fi, fantasy, contemporary, and paranormal genres. She is the author of the award-winning middle grade Evolution Revolution trilogy, Simple Machines, Simple Plans, and Simple Lessons. She co-authored the YA novels Blonde OPS, Sirenz, and Sirenz Back in Fashion. She has two short stories in the Beware the Little White Rabbit (Alice through the Wormhole) and Scare Me to Sleep (Faces in the Wood) anthologies. Having finished her MFA, she's applying what she learned and is working on several children and adult novels, along with some short stories. She lives in NJ with her family and her floofy cat. When they trimmed the backyard tree, the crazy squirrel couple had to move out.